By Trend News Line 2024-05-24 20:32:06.
A Milwaukee man has been found guilty of the tragic killing of a 19-year-old Navy sailor in West Allis. Derrick Williams, aged 38, was convicted on Friday of first-degree intentional homicide using a dangerous weapon in the 2022 shooting death of Phoenix Castanon from Arizona.
The jury reached their verdict just one day after beginning deliberations, marking the culmination of a five-day trial in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Williams was apprehended on July 20, 2022, by detectives and SWAT personnel from the West Allis Police Department in connection to the fatal shooting. He was identified as the sole suspect in the case and was formally charged with the crime three days later.
The tragic incident took place on May 8, 2022, at 2:41 a.m. near South 84th and West Becher streets, where Castanon was discovered with a single gunshot wound. Despite efforts to save his life, he was pronounced dead at the scene. With the guilty verdict, Williams now faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
According to the details outlined in the criminal complaint, a woman who had been with Castanon and his fiancée earlier in the evening encountered Williams in an SUV near the 1900 block of South 84th Street. Williams attempted to coerce her into the vehicle, but upon her refusal, he pursued her on foot. The woman sought refuge in her residence where Castanon and his fiancée were waiting for her.
As Castanon drove to confront Williams, an altercation ensued. Witnesses heard Castanon pleading, “I don’t have a gun. Don’t shoot,” before a single gunshot rang out from Williams’ SUV, after which he fled the scene. Both the woman and Castanon’s fiancée were unable to identify the suspect to the police.
Investigators were able to track down the red GMC Acadia used in the crime, registered to Williams, through video surveillance footage from local establishments. Additional evidence was gathered after Williams was stopped by Milwaukee police for a separate incident, during which a firearm was seen in his possession, and a gunshot was heard from his vehicle.
Following further investigation, authorities confirmed that the gun used in the May 29 incident was the same weapon used in Castanon’s murder. Cell phone records also placed Williams at the scene of the shooting when it occurred. Despite his denial of the shooting, Williams’ mother revealed that he had tearfully confessed to accidentally shooting someone during a phone call in the early hours of May 8, 2022.
Williams is set to be sentenced on August 1, bringing some closure to this tragic chapter. For more information on this case, you can reach out to Adrienne Davis at amdavis@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @AdriReportss..
– Milwaukee man found guilty West Allis murder Navy sailor
– Milwaukee man guilty West Allis murder Navy sailor.